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| Company type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1945 in New York City |
| Defunct | 2000 in New York City |
| Fate | Acquired by Sanyo Electric |
| Products | Audio-Visual and communication equipment, Hi-fi equipment, Home appliances |
| Website | www |
Fisher Electronics was an American company specialising in the field of hi-fi electronics. The company and the name was bought by Japanese electronics conglomerate Sanyo in 1975.
Fisher Electronics was an American audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945 by Avery Fisher in New York City, New York. Originally named the Fisher Radio Corporation, the company is considered a pioneer in high fidelity audio equipment. Fisher initially developed, manufactured and marketed high-performance audio products under the trade name "The Fisher". [1]
In February 1969, Emerson Electric announced plans to purchase Fisher Radio. [2] [3] To purchase Fisher, Emerson initially agreed to exchange 736,000 shares in a transaction worth approximately $75 million. [4] Emerson later agreed to pay approximately $37 million in stock to acquire Fisher. [5] The purchase was completed later that year. [6] Emerson subsequently sold Fisher to Sanyo Electric of Japan in 1975. In 2000, Fisher's entire product lineup was re-branded as Sanyo. Upon the acquisition of Sanyo by Panasonic in 2011, [7] Sanyo's product lineup was, in turn, re-branded as Panasonic. [8] Avery Fisher remained as a consultant for Emerson and Sanyo.
Fisher is generally known to be the first company to introduce separate audio components. Originally, hi-fi systems were integrated all into one chassis.
The Fisher was the brand name for high-end, high quality hi-fi electronic equipment manufactured in New York by The Fisher Radio Corp. during the "golden age" of the vacuum tube, which was named after the company founder, Avery Fisher. [9] [10] [11]
During this period, similar brands were H.H. Scott, Marantz, Harman Kardon, and McIntosh. Some of the early 1960s models were also available as kits. Fisher tube equipment is considered quite collectible today.
Fisher's first receiver was the model 500, a mono AM/FM receiver using two EL37 output tubes. It had a brass-plated face panel and an optional mahogany or "blonde" wooden case. This early mono receiver should not be confused with the later stereo tube receiver models, the 500B and 500C. [9] These later receivers made in the early 1960s were stereo using push-pull 7591 output tubes. They were also sold with optional wood cabinets and had aluminum faceplates instead of the brass on the earlier 500 receiver.
Well-known models include (but are not limited to):
The Fisher was also used on Fisher's early US made solid-state equipment, such as the model 210 receiver.
Fisher FM tuners and receivers often used similar designs and components thus allowing parts to be swapped between various models. A good example is the FM stereo multiplex decoder module. [9]
Fisher was the first to introduce stereo receivers with four channels. These innovations were brief and occurred in the mid-1970s which some[ who? ] consider The Second Golden Age of High Fidelity. Like many new concepts of the time such as Beta Format and VHS, there were a number of competing four channel formats. One was CD-4 (by JVC) and the others were SQ, QS and UD-4. None were particularly successful due to higher hardware costs, incompatibilities between formats and that some purists thought that "four channel" was a fad, which it proved to be.
 | This article may be confusing or unclear to readers.(June 2020) |
At the time the concept of a sub-woofer was in its infancy. Now, it is common to see 5+1 systems which had their heritage in the "confrontation" of four-channel and stereo high fidelity coupled with a sub woofer.
| This article may be confusing or unclear to readers.(June 2020) |
Under Sanyo ownership, Fisher also commercialized a range of consumer products [13] including
In particular, the air conditioning business of Sanyo and Fisher brands was unified in 2000 under the Sanyo Electric Air Conditioning Co. Ltd. scheme, [14] to end up eventually in 2011 with the buyout from Panasonic.
Compactrons are a type of vacuum tube, which contain multiple electrode structures packed into a single enclosure. They were designed to compete with early transistor electronics and were used in televisions, radios, and similar roles.
High fidelity is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat frequency response within the human hearing range.
An audio power amplifier amplifies low-power electronic audio signals, such as the signal from a radio receiver or an electric guitar pickup, to a level that is high enough for driving loudspeakers or headphones. Audio power amplifiers are found in all manner of sound systems including sound reinforcement, public address, home audio systems and musical instrument amplifiers like guitar amplifiers. It is the final electronic stage in a typical audio playback chain before the signal is sent to the loudspeakers.
A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through an amplifier and two or more integrated loudspeakers. A boombox is a device typically capable of receiving radio stations and playing recorded music. Many models are also capable of recording onto cassette tapes from radio and other sources. In the 1990s, some boomboxes were available with MiniDisc recorders and players. Designed for portability, boomboxes can be powered by batteries as well as by line current. The boombox was introduced to the American market during the late 1970s. The desire for louder and heavier bass led to bigger and heavier boxes; by the 1980s, some boomboxes had reached the size of a suitcase. Some larger boomboxes even contained vertically mounted record turntables. Most boomboxes were battery-operated, leading to extremely heavy, bulky boxes.
A tuner is a subsystem that receives radio frequency (RF) transmissions, such as FM broadcasting, and converts the selected carrier frequency and its associated bandwidth into a fixed frequency that is suitable for further processing, usually because a lower frequency is used on the output. Broadcast FM/AM transmissions usually feed this intermediate frequency (IF) directly into a demodulator that converts the radio signal into audio-frequency signals that can be fed into an amplifier to drive a loudspeaker.
Avery Robert Fisher was an amateur violinist, a pioneer in the field of high fidelity sound reproduction, founder of the Philharmonic Radio Company and Fisher Electronics, and a philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to arts organizations and universities.
Lafayette Radio Electronics Corporation was an American radio and electronics manufacturer and retailer from approximately 1931 to 1981, headquartered in Syosset, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. The company sold radio sets, Amateur radio (Ham) equipment, citizens band (CB) radios and related communications equipment, electronic components, microphones, public address systems, and tools through their company owned and branded chain of retail outlets and by mail-order.
Sansui Electric Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of audio and video equipment. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, it was part of the Bermuda conglomerate.
Harman Kardon is a division of US-based Harman International Industries, an independent subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. Harman Kardon was originally founded in Westbury, New York, in 1953 by business partners Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon.
McIntosh Laboratory is an American manufacturer of handcrafted high-end audio equipment headquartered in Binghamton, New York. It is a subsidiary of McIntosh Group, which is under the ownership umbrella of Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm.
Founded by David Hafler and Ed Laurent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1955, Dynaco was an American hi-fi audio system manufacturer popular in the 1960s and 1970s for its wide range of affordable, yet high quality audio components.. Its best known product was the ST-70 tube stereo amplifier. They also manufactured other tube and solid state amplifiers, preamplifiers, radio tuners and bookshelf loudspeakers. Dynaco was liquidated in 1980, and the trademark is now owned by Radial Engineering Ltd.
A home theater in a box (HTIB) is an integrated home theater package which "bundles" together a combination DVD or Blu-ray player, a multi-channel amplifier, speaker wires, connection cables, a remote control, a set of five or more surround sound speakers and a low-frequency subwoofer cabinet. Manufacturers also have come out with the "soundbar", an all in one device to put underneath the television and that contains all the speakers in one unit.
Armstrong Audio, originally called Armstrong Wireless and Television Ltd., was a British manufacturer of radios and other audio equipment based in London, England. Founded by Claude Charles Jackson in 1932.
H. H. Scott, Inc. was a major manufacturer of hi-fi equipment in the U.S. It was founded in 1947 by Hermon Hosmer Scott in Cambridge, Massachusetts and moved to the nearby town of Maynard in 1957.
Luxman is a brand name of Japanese Luxman Corporation (ラックスマン株式会社) that manufactures luxury audio components. Luxman produces a variety of high-end audio products, including turntables, amplifiers, receivers, tape decks, CD players and speakers.
EICO was a manufacturer of electronics kits located in New York City, New York, United States.
Optonica was a subdivision of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp that made high-end hi-fi products and systems.
Technics is a Japanese audio brand established by Matsushita Electric in 1965. Since 1965, Matsushita has produced a variety of HiFi and other audio products under the brand name, such as turntables, amplifiers, radio receivers, tape recorders, CD players, loudspeakers, and digital pianos. Technics products were available for sale in various countries. The brand was originally conceived as a line of high-end audio equipment to compete against brands such as Nakamichi.
Home audio refer to audio consumer electronics designed for home entertainment, such as integrated systems like shelf stereos, as well as individual components like loudspeakers and surround sound receivers.
The NAD 3020 is a stereo integrated amplifier by NAD Electronics, considered to be one of the most important components in the history of high fidelity audio. Launched in 1978, this highly affordable product delivered a good quality sound, which acquired a reputation as an audiophile amplifier of exceptional value. By 1998, the NAD 3020 had become the most well known and best-selling audio amplifier in history.
